Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

babylonsister

(170,963 posts)
Thu Jan 11, 2018, 10:38 AM Jan 2018

Why Republicans Love Dumb Presidents

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/why-conservatives-love-dumb-presidents.html

January 10, 2018 8:00 am
Why Republicans Love Dumb Presidents
By
Jonathan Chait


snip//


Reagan succeeded because his staff insulated him from his own limitations — much to the chagrin of movement conservatives, whose slogan, “Let Reagan be Reagan,” reflected their not-wrong understanding that the largely moderate White House staff was softening the president’s hard ideological edges. The cult of Reagan that developed on the right transformed a historical accident into a governing ideal. Everything Reagan did was retrospectively perfect, and every subsequent Republican presidential contender has labored to cast himself as Reagan’s heir.

Since Reagan’s time, conservatives have not only reflexively dismissed questions about the intelligence of any leader who seemed wanting, but presented these traits as encouraging evidence of Reaganesque qualities.
Reagan’s immediate successor, George H.W. Bush, was a highly qualified and experienced public servant who, not coincidentally, failed to win the trust and affection of his party’s base. His son, George W., cast himself as the heir to Reagan rather than to his own father. In 1999, Bush offered up, as an example of something he does not like to do, “sitting down and reading a 500-page book on public policy or philosophy or something.” Bush eventually grew to take his job more seriously, but his trust in his gut instinct over analysis never left him.

The vice-presidential candidacy of Sarah Palin represents an important marker in the evolution of the Republican Party. A candidate who plainly lacked familiarity with national-level public policy was nonetheless not only defended by conservatives, but embraced with a fervor that exceeded the grudging enthusiasm of the candidate who selected her. That liberals abhorred her as a rube merely served to confirm her authentic membership in the conservative tribe. “This is not the first time that I’ve seen a governor being questioned by some, quote, ‘expert,’” insisted John McCain in her defense. “I remember that Ronald Reagan was a cowboy.”

Donald Trump was able to vanquish his rivals and capture the Republican nomination for many reasons, but one of them was his ability to win a race to the mental bottom. He dominated the many televised debates with crude bullying. No candidate before Trump had made such a mockery of the very idea of having facts to support his position; he would simply dismiss his adversaries as short, ugly, nerdy, or female. His inability to grasp complexity has forced Trump to fixate relentlessly on a simple themes, like the wall and the lack of gratitude displayed by minorities, that resonate with his supporters. Trump is the apotheosis of the anti-intellectual style, the perfect spokesman for the conservative agenda.

Trump’s allies have tried to swat away questions of his mental fitness by casting him as a populist who speaks the plain language of regular people. “When President Trump refuses to speak in stale political platitudes, his critics think he is missing something. But the truth is, President Trump speaks to the country in an authentic and genuine way that Americans understand and appreciate,” says Ronald Lauder, voice of the people and heir to the Estée Lauder fortune.

Trump himself does not play the pseudo-populist game. He brags incessantly about his brains and his academic pedigree, from his Ivy League status to his brainy uncle. Being seen as a regular Joe is his worst nightmare. He wishes to be seen as a brilliant mind. Yet Trump owes his success to his inability to carry it off.
8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why Republicans Love Dumb Presidents (Original Post) babylonsister Jan 2018 OP
I still say ray-gun was the worst president of my lifetime... Jokerman Jan 2018 #1
In my long life Cartoonist Jan 2018 #5
This all so reminds me Proud Liberal Dem Jan 2018 #2
The GOP loves idiots because their base are all idiots Gothmog Jan 2018 #3
I used to believe that the competitive nature of our elections provided a firewall. Girard442 Jan 2018 #4
All of this talks about our education system in a way. IluvPitties Jan 2018 #6
Yes, the American people have some responsibility. Irish_Dem Jan 2018 #8
Dummies like dummies. lagomorph777 Jan 2018 #7

Jokerman

(3,517 posts)
1. I still say ray-gun was the worst president of my lifetime...
Thu Jan 11, 2018, 10:45 AM
Jan 2018

if only because the dumbing down of the country that allows the republicans to keep electing idiots started with him.

Cartoonist

(7,298 posts)
5. In my long life
Thu Jan 11, 2018, 10:55 AM
Jan 2018

I thought Nixon was bad. Then came Reagan. Poppa Bush was worse, his idiot son even more worse. Now we've hit bottom.

At least I hope we've hit bottom.

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,355 posts)
2. This all so reminds me
Thu Jan 11, 2018, 10:46 AM
Jan 2018

of the Simpsons episode where Homer wins the position of sanitation commissioner over an obviously more qualified and experienced civil servant (played hilariously by Steve Martin) and Homer winds up turning the town (literally) into a trash heap, forcing the whole town to be re-located once garbage starts spewing out of every orifice of the land. I can't help but feeling like we're basically living through this now- all because Republicans- and too many more people-liked his schtick for one reason or another.

Girard442

(6,059 posts)
4. I used to believe that the competitive nature of our elections provided a firewall.
Thu Jan 11, 2018, 10:55 AM
Jan 2018

The idea was that a numbnuts who couldn't run a government couldn't win an election because he was too much of a numbnuts to run a winning campaign. This all falls apart if the candidate (and the people around the candidate) wasn't really running the campaign. We may find out some day that the Russians weren't just colluding with the Trump campaign -- they were the Trump campaign.

IluvPitties

(3,181 posts)
6. All of this talks about our education system in a way.
Thu Jan 11, 2018, 11:24 AM
Jan 2018

How come it produces such an amount of ignorant voters?

Irish_Dem

(45,640 posts)
8. Yes, the American people have some responsibility.
Thu Jan 11, 2018, 11:44 AM
Jan 2018

They tend to vote on an emotional level, for the candidate they like or love. Or against a candidate they hate.
These feelings are not rational. No due diligence is done prior to voting to determine who will be the best public servant.

In some states the America voter seems to just phone it in, re-electing officials who are obviously ill qualified and or corrupt.

We have a corrupt WH and GOP congress who sold out the country to the Russians, who act only in their own self interests, and the American people seem apathetic about all of it.

Living in a democracy is a profound right, denied to many of the world's citizens. It also entails a profound responsibility, to make the right choices in leadership.

Perhaps the educational system or parents do not instill this in children.

My grandparents were immigrants to the United States, coming from countries where they had no opportunities or were subjugated by a ruling class.

From a very early age, I understood it was a blessing and a privilege to live in America, and it was my responsibility as a citizen to make sure the country continued to operate according to its ideals.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why Republicans Love Dumb...